


AND DON'T COME BACK

by Polyhexian



Series: Humanformers: The Music AU [28]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Humanformers, M/M, POV Third Person, discussions of abuse and manipulation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:33:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26574553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Polyhexian/pseuds/Polyhexian
Summary: Prowl calls Chromedome back.
Relationships: Chromedome/Rewind (Transformers)
Series: Humanformers: The Music AU [28]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1859230
Comments: 5
Kudos: 31





	AND DON'T COME BACK

Chromedome was humming Jon Bellion's _The Good in Me_ with an unambiguous smile as he walked down the driveway to the mailbox. He was in a good mood today, excited to get his cast off soon, excited about the lovely weather, excited at how well Rewind had been feeling lately now that his stitches were out and he was doing his stretches every morning.

He opened the mailbox and flipped through envelopes quickly. A few more bills for Rewind, no surprise there, a few notices from the post office that he had packages waiting from the PO box to pick up, and at the bottom a thick yellow envelope the size of a folder.

Addressed to _him._

Chromedome frowned and held it, putting the rest of the mail under his arm as he walked back inside, inspecting it, before he looked at the sender and realized who it was from. He was glad Rewind wasn't home, suddenly. 

Chromedome set Rewind's mail down on the table and sat down on the couch with his envelope, brows knitted together anxiously as he tore it open and found a manila folder within and a letter on top.

_Hey, answer your phone once in awhile, will you? I'm sick of this thing taking up space on my desk. I know you never listen to me, but call me before you open! Seriously, this is some juicy stuff here. You owe me!_

Chromedome swallowed thickly, staring at the manilla folder, before he opened his phone and called Prowl.

"Chromedome!" Prowl cheered, "See? Got your name right that time, eh?"

"Thanks," said Chromedome, "Prowl. What is this?"

"Have you opened it yet?"

"No."

"Are you telling me the truth?"

"Yes, Prowl, I haven't opened it," Chromedome groaned.

"So that guy you had me look up, huh? Dominus Ambus? Wow. You really hit the wild card here, man."

Chromedome hesitated, staring at the folder like it was a venomous snake. "What does that mean?"

"Motherfucker's _alive,_ Tumbler."

"He's _what?!_ " Chromedome gasped, nearly dropping the folder.

"Okay, open it up, first page."

Chromedome shoved the phone between his shoulder and his ear so he could use his good hand to flip it open. On the first page was a photo of a man who looked to be about forty in front of a house, unlocking his car. "What is this?" he whispered.

"Yeah, turns out, this guy totally faked his death. He was into some kind of white collar crime, had a bunch of gambling debt, the whole nine yards- he drove his car up to a bridge and left it there along with some torn fabric on one of the support rails. Whole thing was a farce. He moved down to Praxus and changed his name. New family, new life."

"How is this not public?" Chromedome gasped, horrified, covering his mouth with one hand, "He has a _headstone._ "

"Yeah so here's the thing, once the feds tracked him down they hit him up about doing some kind of informant thing with whatever embezzling scheme he's got rigged up, so they're keeping it all on the down low. Dude's a total scam artist."

"Oh, god," Chromedome breathed, fingers tight against his cheek. 

"Absolutely buck wild, the whole thing. So there's some photos in there, the guy's new address, some crime scene photos and an analysis from an expert showing that it's suspicious and probably staged, some other stuff."

"I didn't think you would send me this much," Chromedome whispered, voice hoarse with shock.

"Yeah, well, ol' Prowl comes through, eh? Come on, tell me I ain't earned lunch or something, huh?" 

"You've earned lunch, Prowl," Chromedome snapped the folder shut and held it in the lap like it was full of acid, "I- I promise I will call you back and schedule something, I just- I just need a moment."

Prowl hesitated. "Promise? You'll actually call me back this time?"

"I _promise_ , Prowl, I-" Chromedome took a deep, shuddering breath, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Chromedome." 

Chromedome hung up and dropped his phone, grabbing the folder with his good hand. This was _not_ what he had wanted. He had wanted something he could give Rewind maybe, or maybe just some kind of context so he didn't have to push Rewind into talking about something that clearly upset him so much, something, anything, but not _this._ He hadn't been prepared for _this._

He didn't know what to do. He'd asked Prowl to look Dominus up _before_ the break-in, before he'd told Rewind he wouldn't keep things from him anymore but now he had _this_ and he didn't want to keep this from him but- but would Rewind even _want_ to know this? 

He heard a key in the door and panicked, wrenching himself to his feet and jamming the folder under the couch cushion. He sat back down, panting with panic as Rewind stepped inside and his smile fell as he noticed him.

"What's up with you?" Rewind inquired, shutting the door behind him and triple locking it, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Chromedome swallowed, unable to speak, his hand clutching the edge of the couch cushion as if the whole thing might burst outward as if from a grenade. Rewind frowned and set down his messenger bag before he came and sat next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Domey?" he prompted, voice gentle. 

Chromedome bit his lip, staring at the carpet as his shoulders tightened inward. "I- I should tell you something, but- but I think you will really, really not like it."

Rewind furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "It's okay, Domey, I'm not mad at you, you just need to-"

"No, it's not- it's not a drug thing, it's-" Chromedome buried his face in his hand and took a deep, steadying breath, before he looked back up at Rewind. "If I knew something that would do nothing but hurt your feelings, something you didn't actually need to know- something that had nothing to do with _me_ \- would you still want me to tell you?"

Rewind paused, clearly taking the question seriously, before he answered. "Yes."

Chromedome nodded and swallowed. "Okay. Okay, um… do you remember that night that- I said something that reminded you of Dominus and you got upset?"

Rewind visibly tensed. "Yes?"

"I… I wanted to know more but I didn't want to push you, you didn't want to talk about it, and when I was in highschool I used to date this guy, Prowl, I met in forensic science? We were both in the closet so it was super secret and I don't think we even really liked each other but we both came from a super catholic area, so-" he stopped himself and shook his head. "Anyway I called him and asked for a favour, I asked- I asked him to call about Dominus's… missing person's report, and-"

"You _what?!_ " Rewind snapped, standing up, "That is a _gross_ invasion of-"

"Wait, wait, God, I know, okay, this was like two months ago! I honestly had forgotten about it but- but he sent me the file in the mail and-" Chromedome stood up and pulled the couch cushion up, grabbing the folder and clutching it to his chest, "And he found out something- Rewind, it's something you… you should know, but you won't like."

Rewind stared at him, still clearly furious, but expression being consumed by sudden apprehension and at the same time, curiosity. "...What?" he asked.

"Dominus is… well, he's… he's not…" Chromedome started and stopped a few times, before he took a sharp intake, "Rewind, he faked his death. He's fine and living in Florida with a new family."

Chromedome held out the folder toward him, but Rewind didn't move to take it. He just stared at him, whale eyed like a wild animal, frozen between fifty emotions all overwhelming at once.

"That's not true," Rewind said, finally, voice barely a whisper, "That's a lie."

"No, Rewind, look!" Chromedome insisted, opening the folder to the first page, the photo of Dominus in front of his new house. Rewind flinched, but didn't blink. Rewind snatched the folder from his hands and spun away, grabbing the printed out photo in his hand before he was distracted by one underneath. Dominus at a restaurant with two kids, kissing a woman on the cheek. Rewind froze.

"He lied to me," Rewind breathed, voice quavering, back to Chromedome. 

"Rewind, I'm so sorry, I-"

"He _lied_ to me!" Rewind screamed, and threw the folder against the wall hard enough that it knocked over the lamp on the side table. Chromedome recoiled in surprise. "And _you!_ " Rewind snarled, whipping around, "You went behind my _back!_ How _dare_ you!"

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for it to-" Chromedome apologized, cowing, horrified. He'd never seen Rewind so upset, not even when he'd yelled at him before.

"Get out!" Rewind yelled, pointing at the door, "Get the _fuck_ out of my house!"

"What?!" Chromedome balked, "Seriously?"

"Get out of my fucking house, Chromedome!" Rewind yelled, grabbing his head. Chromedome took a step back and then another, before he quickly made his way to the front door. Behind him he heard Rewind kick over the coffee table with a shriek before he shut the door behind him, panting. 

He stood there for a moment uncertainly, trying to get his bearings, before the sound of something breaking inside spooked him and he walked to the end of the drive and sat down on the curb, mouth a flat line, no idea what to do now. He still hadn't replaced his car. He didn't know if Rewind was going to let him back in. He'd had no idea how badly this would upset him. Maybe he shouldn't have told him after all. 

Chromedome opened his phone and texted Brainstorm.

 _Are you busy?_ he typed, _I think I really fucked up, storm_

 _what did u do_ Brainstorm replied.

Chromedome looked back toward the house. _I've never seen Rewind so angry. He kicked me out of the house._

Chromedome's phone rang.

"He kicked you _out?_ " Brainstorm gasped.

"He just yelled at me to get our of his house," Chromedome told him, shakily, "I- I really upset him."

"What did you _do,_ CD?!"

"I- Rewind has this ex he has some serious baggage with and I asked Prowl to look into the guy and-"

"CD, you can't just _do_ shit like that-"

"I know! I know, I know, I just wanted- he was _missing,_ Storm, presumed _dead_ , I thought, I just- I don't know, I thought maybe if I could help find the body or something that he could get some closure, I know that's fucking stupid, I just- I just-"

"That's… that's not stupid, CD," Brainstorm said, cutting him off, "Yeah. No, you- yeah. Alright. He kicked you out for that?"

"No, he kicked me out because Prowl found out he's alive. He faked his death. He's been fine this whole time and he just- he just let Rewind think he was dead."

Brainstorm was quiet. "That's horrible."

"I don't know if he's going to let me back in," Chromedome whispered, hugging his knees with his cast arm and staring at the asphalt. "I can't believe we made it through… through everything else and I still fucked it up."

"CD, you didn't- I mean, I don't think-" Brainstorm paused. "If I hang up for a second will you promise not to do anything stupid?"

"I promise," Chromedome answered, "If you promise to come get me if he doesn't let me back in."

"Deal," Brainstorm said, and then hung up. Chromedome put his phone back in his pocket and hugged his knees with both arms, burying his face. 

Four or five minutes passed before he heard the front door slam open and he turned to see Rewind with his hand on the doorknob and his face wrecked from crying. "Domey!" he cried, before he even saw him, voice terrified.

Chromedome sat up a bit and gave him a wave and Rewind jogged across the yard to grab his hand and haul him to his feet and into a hug.

"Fuck, I'm sorry," he sniffled into Chromedome's shirt, "Please come back inside. I'm sorry."

"Are you sure?" Chromedome asked, hesitantly, "If you don't want me to, Brainstorm said he would-"

"Please come back inside," Rewind choked, "I shouldn't have yelled at you, I'm sorry."

"Okay," Chromedome acquiesced, and let Rewind pull him back inside. 

He _had_ tipped the coffee table over, and thrown a mug against the wall, it looked like. Papers from the folder were spread all over the floor and Chromedome grimaced.

Rewind stopped in the middle of the floor and Chromedome wasn't sure what to do for a moment before Rewind shuddered with a jerky, aborted sob and his protective instincts overwhelmed him. Chromedome pushed him all the way to the couch and pulled him into his lap to hold him, Rewind's knees pulled up and head buried in Chromedome's good shoulder.

"It's okay," Chromedome soothed, rubbing his back, "You're okay."

"I'm not okay," Rewind sniffled weakly, "He _left_ me."

"I know," Chromedome said, pathetically, "I'm sorry."

"God I knew, I _knew_ , even back then- at eighteen, him thirty-two, with a wife, and- I knew, I knew even then it was a bad idea, these stories didn't have happy endings, I _knew_ it was going to end badly but I told myself I was _different_ , it wasn't like everything you hear about, it was-" Rewind took a shuddering gasp of air, "I thought he loved me."

Chromedome felt his insides roil, white-hot sympathy making him feel sick to his stomach. He yearned for the words to fix it, a magic solution that would make everything make sense and seem right and they didn't exist. "I'm sorry."

"I was nothing to him," Rewind whispered, "I was just a side fuck. I was nothing."

"You aren't nothing," Chromedome denied immediately, squeezing him right, "You're wonderful. You're smart, and creative, and kind, empathetic and caring and passionate, you're- you're- you're everything, Rewind. He was an idiot. He took you for granted."

"I spent months crying over him," Rewind said, voice shaking, "I _mourned_ for him, I- I lost my whole family over him, Domey, oh, god, I- Eject _told_ me he was a piece of shit and he _told_ me not to go to Iacon with him and we got in a huge fight and I told him if they didn't support me I didn't need them and I chose him over my _family,_ Chromedome." Rewind sniffled and sobbed and shook, uncharacteristically wrecked. 

"He shouldn't have put you in that position," Chromedome argued, "You were eighteen. You were practically a kid."

"I wasn't a kid," Rewind insisted, "I was an adult and I made adult decisions and they were the wrong ones and now it's- it's been ten years and I haven't spoken to them since, I- god. They were right. They were right all along and I blamed them."

Chromedome's heart ached and he rocked Rewind back and forth in his lap, face buried in his hair. "You were so young, Rewind. You didn't know better."

"I ruined everything," Rewind sobbed, "god, I've wrecked it and there's no fixing it."

"You don't know that," Chromedome argued, "Maybe they miss you. Maybe they want you to come back."

"Why would they!" Rewind wailed, "I left! I _left_ them! I was horrible, I _am_ horrible, why would they ever want me back!"

"Because you're a good person," Chromedome soothed firmly, "Because you're wonderful and loveable and if they don't want you, they're missing out. It's not too late, Rewind."

"They'll never forgive me. I just know it."

"You don't know," Chromedome told him, "You don't know until you ask. If… if you wanna call someone I'll hold your hand the whole time and if they don't want to hear from you then fuck em. We can both be orphans. Okay?"

Rewind sniffled. "Okay."

"Okay," Chromedome said softly, continuing to rock him in the wrecked room while he cried, until he couldn't cry anymore.


End file.
